Warming the body up is easier than keeping it cool, which takes a head of well-moussed hair, a collection of leather jackets, and fluency in jive talk. Turn up the heat with today's Groupon: for $45, you get five Bikram yoga classes at Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge (up to a $90 value).
Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge's trained yogis lead pupils through a thermal series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises during 90 minutes of stretching designed to increase strength and flexibility. The 2,100-square-foot hot room swelters at 105 degrees, helping to release bodily toxins while warming up muscles like a human-sized easy-bake oven. A packed class schedule accommodates a range of waking hours, and a list of tips answers the yoga queries of first-time attendees.
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors and warm colors double the studio’s already ample space, and two overhead skylights frame sunny rays or cloud tears. Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge also supplies exercisers with showers, changing rooms, and free parking, as well as mats ($3 rental fee) for those who refuse to steal one from a napping toddler.
Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge
Before they stretched beneath the studio's two skylights, the instructors at Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge had to prove themselves to the father of their art. They all attended and graduated from a nine-week intensive program led by Bikram Choudhury himself, emerging as certified teachers who were ready to helm their own heated practice space. They now manage Bikram Yoga Burr Ridge according to the Bikram discipline's specifications: 90-minute classes, a room warmed to 105 degrees, and a carefully ordered sequence of 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises.
These sessions strive to progressively work all areas of the body by passing newly oxygenated blood throughout its systems. The heat, meanwhile, renders muscles more pliable and reveals which of your fellow pupils are actually elaborate ice sculptures. Though the high temperatures take some getting used to, the studio's amenities are otherwise geared toward total comfort: changing rooms, showers, and a bright lobby welcome students. The heating mechanism is also environmentally friendly, conserving energy even as it prompts a cleansing sweat from Bikram practitioners.